This invention relates to a retainer that securely retains a tube within a housing.
Various types of quick connect fluid couplings are known wherein a plastic retainer has two arms which extend radially inwardly to secure a radially greater upset portion of a tube within a housing bore. Generally, the upset portion of the tube is forced inwardly of the housing bore such that it causes the arms to flex radially outwardly. The upset portion then moves axially beyond the arms. The arms move back radially inwardly, and abut the upset portion, preventing tube removal.
In this type of quick connect fluid coupling, several competing goals must be met. First, it is desirable that the arms securely retain the tube within the housing, and that a very high force be required to cause the retainer to fail and allow the tube to be removed. To this end, it is desirable to increase the number of arms which abut the upset portion of the tube.
Merely increasing the number of arms is not a satisfactory solution, however, because it becomes difficult to ensure that the arms are all positioned at proper axial positions relative to each other. If the arms are misaligned they may not all abut the upset portion of the tube. Further, it becomes difficult to ensure that the retainer body is properly positioned within the housing bore. Because of these reasons the number of arms has typically been limited and plastic retainers have not been utilized in higher pressure connections.